Alone
by AlexaNDYE
Summary: Pepper grieves over the loss of her mother, and Tony does his best to comfort her. The loss of her mother reminds him of the loss of his parents, and they both end up in a mess of tears. [Post-IM3]


"I'm so sorry, dear." Tony heard one of Pepper's relatives tell her with a sorrow filled tone. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Pepper, eyes puffy and red from crying, hugged the woman, and then exchanged heartfelt words with her. Tony was standing behind her, keeping his hand on her shoulder as people expressed their condolences. He'd squeeze the spot where his hand was every so often to reassure her he was still there, supporting her every step of the way. He knew the process all too well. Relatives, friends, and family lined up to give the affected family their sympathies. They'd exchange words, hugs, tears, and everything else in between.

The funeral painfully reminded him of his parents'. He remembered standing off to the side as people he barely knew came up to him and expressed their sympathies. Obediah stood next to him, greeting them and hugging them when he refused to. Tony didn't cry nor did he violently yell at the world for taking his parents away, because he simply didn't know how to. His body was numb throughout the entire ceremony. He bottled up his emotions and threw them to the side, expecting them to eventually disappear, but they never did. He shunned the world out. He pushed Rhodey, and Pepper away until a decade worth of regret and sorrow collapsed on them without warning during a drunken rage.

After the funeral of Pepper's mother, Pepper wasn't keen on getting straight back to work. Anyone would think she'd use work as a way to cover up her personal troubles, and normally, she did.

When a personal conflict happened in her life, she'd carry a big enough work load to get her through the week; she'd drown herself with work until her feelings went numb, her personal problems dissolved on its own, and her routine only consisted of eating and sleeping. Her mom would call her and check up on her. How her mom always knew when she was upset was beyond her. When Pepper saw her caller ID on her phone, she'd grin and sigh to herself.

This time was different.

She was no longer singled out in her lonesome apartment, curled up in a chair and checking her Blackberry for updates every second, desperately trying to escape her personal, heart aching, and conflicted world. Her job wasn't the only thing in her life anymore, and she couldn't simply toss everything to one side. Her mother was no longer there to comfort her, listen to her rant, and give her encouraging words of advice. As much as she wanted to get away from the world and carry on like nothing happened, she couldn't, not when her mother wasn't there with her.

On the day Pepper got the call about the passing of her mother, Tony listened to her quietly cry and talk about all the little things her mother did for her, when she was little, when she was growing up and moving out of the house, when she started working and surviving on her own, and so on. He breathed a laugh when she told him how her mom offered to fly over to knock some sense into him for stressing her out over work.

Tony didn't let her out of his sight. Pepper could feel his eyes on her, watching her, making sure she was okay. She barely talked to him after the funeral. Tony didn't pry; he knew the loss of her mother hit her hard and he wanted to give her as much space as he could.

After a long day of crying and reminiscing, Pepper decided to turn in for the night. She quietly approached the bedroom and saw Tony was already under the sheets with his back against the headboard. He was on his Stark phone, flicking away at whatever was in front of him. It was probably schematics. It always was.

He looked up at her and greeted her softly. "Hey."

"Hey." Pepper's eyes were still puffy and red. She spent the last half of the evening sitting on the balcony alone with a box of tissues.

He watched her gradually change into a pair of shorts and one of his t-shirts. She was quiet and kept to herself. She moved about the room as if there was nothing else to care about in the world. Her movements were slow, yet steady. He could tell she was exhausted, but he wasn't sure if it was because of the day's events or the crying. She looked like she was fighting a personal battle and losing.

She slipped her legs underneath the covers and snuggled comfortably into the sheets. She laid her head on the pillow and turned the other way to avoid his gaze. She hadn't talked to him much that day, and it worried him.

He frowned as she continued to distance herself from him.

"You okay?" He asked; his voice was husky and low.

"Yeah." She sounded defeated.

He sighed and placed his Stark Phone on the nightstand beside him. He hated seeing her like that; alone and reserved. He brushed the back of his hand against her shoulder. "Come here."

She wasn't in the mood to cuddle or snuggle, but the thought of his strong arms wrapped around her pulled her towards him. She needed the strength to put herself back together and move on with her life, but the strength she desired never came. She didn't know how much she needed him to put her back together and tell her that everything was going to be okay until that night. She needed reassurance, and the strength to move on. She turned around and saw his small, warm smile, but she didn't return it. She scooted closer to him and felt his arm wrap around her shoulder.

His wide hand rubbed across her back and gripped her shoulder. She almost started crying.

He pulled her closer and pressed her against his body. Her head rested comfortably on the inside of his shoulder, and her hand settled on the spot in the middle of his chest, where his Arc Reactor used to be. He kept his arm wrapped around her, and placed his hand on her waist, gently rubbing circles into her soft skin.

His strong and well-built body comforted her and protected her. God, she missed how warm and reassuring he was, how his body wrapped around hers gave her strength and courage.

"I called Sandra and told her to reschedule the rest of the week's meetings." He abruptly told her.

Pepper shot him a glare. How dare he. "Tony—"

"You need the time off, Honey. The company doesn't need you every single second of the day, which is also why I'm freezing your Blackberry until Sunday." She opened her mouth to speak, but he didn't let her. "Pepper." He warned.

"I'm fine…" She mumbled, digging her cheek back into his chest.

"Take the time to look through your mom's things with your relatives and go visit your father. I'm sure he'd like to see you."

Pepper sighed. Her father. She wasn't exactly on good terms with him. "Maybe."

She continued to give him one worded responses with little to no emotion. He wondered whether or not she knew he was there, if she knew she could ask him of anything at all, if she knew he'd let her cry on his shoulder, if she knew he'd hold her and comfort her.

"When my parents passed away, I had no one." Tony announced. Pepper stared at the spot on his chest and listened to his heartbeat and his words, and silently held onto him. Why was he telling her this? "Sure, I had Obie, but he was heartless and cruel, and we both know how he turned out. He said a few words to me and continued business as usual. I was closer to him than my own father, but even then, I knew his words meant nothing. I kept to myself and held onto my emotions. I didn't cry at the funeral. I didn't talk to anyone. It didn't even feel like a funeral. It was business. Everything was business. I had no friends, no one to talk to, and no one to cry on."

"Tony…" Pepper murmured, feeling a tear roll down his neck. She pulled away from him and sat up so she could face him. He moved his hands on top of hers and gently squeezed it. He smiled warmly as he tried to reassure her and give her strength.

"I know you've heard me spew out in some drunken episode the emotional nonsense of my parents' deaths before." Another tear rolled down his cheek. "I just don't want to you to bottle it up like I did. I don't want you to think that you're alone like I was, because you're not, Pepper."

Her mom was no longer with her. Pepper would no longer hear her words of encouragement or advice. She'd no longer hear her laugh, or cry. She'd no longer get to see her smile. She'd no longer smell her cooking in the kitchen. All of these things crashed onto her at once. At the end of the funeral, she thought she was alone. She still saw herself alone in her apartment, pushing herself to do more work than usual, so she could pick up the phone at the end of the day and hear her mother's voice. But, at the end of the day, there was no voice. There was only silence. Pepper felt tears start to form at the corner of her eyes.

"You're not alone. I'm here. I'll always be here for you." His words—his voice, so soft and

Tears streamed down her cheeks all at once. She choked out sobs and squeezed his hand. She didn't want to be alone; she didn't want to believe that her mother passed away, but she did, and she didn't know what to do.

He pulled her in and let her cry against his chest. Her hands grabbed at his shirt and she desperately held on. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she soaked his shirt with her tears. She laid on top of him as they clung to each other. The only noises around them were cries of emotional pain and anguish.

Tony brought a hand up to lovingly and reassuringly stroke her hair. He threaded his fingers in between her strands of hair and let his hand drift down onto her back. He rubbed circles into her shoulder blades, her back, and her waist. He encouraged her to let all of her tears out as he continued to comfort her.

"_They're…" Tony choked a sob as his back slid against the wall. Pepper sighed and told him to get up. Ten minutes ago, she was dragging his drunk ass out of a party, and all she wanted to do was go home and get some rest._

"_C'mon, Tony. You need to go to bed."_

_Tony looked up at her with heartbroken eyes. His bottom lip quivered as tears started stream down his face. "They're not coming back, Pepper." He choked a sob and brought his hand to his face. "They're never coming back."_

_Pepper had never seen him like that before. It had been a little over two years since she started working for him, and she's never seen him break down crying. She kneeled down next to him and reached out to comfort him. She hesitated when he choked out another sob. She pressed her hand against his back and rubbed in circles._

"_My parents—" She heard him muffle a cry. "—My parents are never coming back. They're gone—they're dead. They're never—" He shook his head, and let the tears drip down his chin and onto his beer soaked shirt._

_With Pepper, there was always a definite line between employee and boss, and she was strict on the 'line', but the sight in front of her broke her heart and the 'line'. He was crying about his parents while he was drunk, and so she wondered, how long has he kept his emotions bottled up for it to come out so suddenly?_

_She brought her hand up to the back of his head and gently played with his hair. She shushed him as he cried against her shoulder. She tried to be there for him, and listened to every word and sob that escaped his lips. He talked about his parents, the crash, the funeral, and the will. He continued to cry and talk until he fell asleep. He remembered everything the next morning, but he didn't say anything about it. It was one of those unspoken agreements between them to never talk about it, but he wanted to. He wanted to thank her for being there for him and taking care of him. _

"I love you, Pepper." He whispered. "I'll always be here for you." He repeated. "Always."

She pulled away from him and stared. His love was so tender and unknown to the world, and yet he told her, every single week and in more ways than one, how much she meant to him. His eyes were so brown, wide, and comforting, and his lips looked soft and warm. He was always so strong for her, and he was there when she needed him the most. She slowly leaned in and softly kissed him. He could feel her tears against his lips and taste its saltiness in his mouth. The kiss wasn't needy or passionate. It was soft, thankful, and loving.

They spent the rest of the night snuggled against each other, with their legs tangled and their arms around each other. She talked to him about her mother, and he listened while rubbing small and comforting circles into her waist. She wasn't sure if it was from exhaustion or the eye strain from crying, but she started to fall asleep, comfortably relaxing against him.

"I love you," she whispered softly, just before she fell asleep. After he felt her breathing even out, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and continued to hold her until sleep overtook him as well.


End file.
